Have you ever visited a website and waited several minutes for the webpage or photos to load? Or maybe you received a message stating that the website is overcrowded.
A slow website isn't just annoying but it can cost companies thousands of dollars when users leave them for other services or if they have to continuously invest in servers and CPUs. This is where Node.js comes to the rescue.
Node.js is a scalable platform that allows engineers to build fast systems that execute asynchronously. This means that it can process many tasks at a time. Other systems must wait for one request to be complete before it processes another. Meanwhile, Node.js server can process a request as it waits for a response from the database. This increases the website speed time significantly.
In this article, we will share how to get started with building a Node.js website and share some amazing website examples as well.
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How to Build a Website With Node.js
Before we walk through the steps of building a website with Node.js, let's jump right into defining it.
What is Node.js?
Node.js (also called node) is an open-source framework. It’s completely free and used by many developers. By definition, it is a server-side platform built on Google Chrome's JavaScript V8 Engine. This engine takes your JavaScript code and converts it into a faster machine code. So, having some JavaScript knowledge is beneficial when building a Node.js website.
Node.js came into existence when the original developers of JavaScript extended it from running only in the browser to running now on your machine as a standalone application. The benefits you can gain from using Node.js are nearly endless. Here are a few:
Benefits of Node.js
- Node.js has a very fast code execution, thanks to Google Chrome's V8 JavaScript Engine.
- Node.js is asynchronous (non-blocking), meaning that instead of waiting for returned data, the serve moves to the next call.
- Node.js never buffers any data instead it outputs the data in chunks.
- Node.js is single-threaded and highly scalable, meaning that it can provide service to a much larger number of requests than traditional servers.
With all its advantages, Node.js now plays a critical role in many high-profile companies such as Microsoft, PayPal, Uber, eBay, and many more.
Installing Node.js
To install Node.js to your machine, you will need a text editor to download the package. Node.js comes along with its own package manager called Node Package Manager or npm. Follow the steps below to get started.
1. Visit the NodeJS website.
2. Download the package suitable for your OS.
3. Follow the prompts to complete the installation process.
To verify installation or check your package version, open your terminal and run the following command:
As a result, you should see your node and npm version displayed. The latest version at the time of this article is Node.js v16.16.0 and npm v8.11.0.
Take a look at this great video for a detailed description of how to get started with your own Node project.
9 Amazing Node.js Website Examples
A Node.js website should have a clean design and be easy to navigate. Here we will discuss some of the top websites that are built with Node.js. Let's get started.
1. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking platform suited for career-driven individuals. LinkedIn switched to Node.js in 2011 and was able to optimize its mobile app, scale, and cut down on server resources.
2. eBay
eBay is an e-commerce platform that is free to use for buyers. Node.js has helped its website produce great speed and simplicity.
3. PayPal
PayPal is a well-known fintech company. The company has been using Node.js to build the consumer-facing side of its web application.
4. Netflix
Netflix is a large global video streaming platform. They used Node.js to achieve lightweight, modular and fast applications. As a result, it reduced its app startup time by 70%.
5. GoDaddy
Go Daddy is a publicly-traded internet domain registrar and web hosting provider. It chose Node.js to deploy new features immediately, write unit and integration tests easily, and build quality applications.
6. Groupon
Groupon is a global e-commerce marketplace connecting users with local merchants. They were able to increase their website speed by 50% and serve much higher traffic thanks to Node.js.
7. Uber
Uber is an online transportation platform. It prefers Node.js because it processes information quickly, errors can be addressed on the fly, and it's constantly evolving.
8. NASA
NASA is responsible for the research and exploration of space-related matters for the US government. It uses a feature of Node.js called microservices, giving NASA the ability to move its enterprise to the cloud.
9. Walmart
Walmart is a large popular retail company. It relies on Node.js framework for its UIs as it strives to be an online retail leader.
HubSpot's Free Website Builder
Create and customize your own business website with an easy drag-and-drop website builder.
- Build a website without any coding skills.
- Pre-built themes and templates.
- Built-in marketing tools and features.
- And more!
Why choose Node.js?
In this article, we defined Node.js and shared some of the most prominent Node.js website examples. For many companies, Node.js was able to solve various business tasks and reduce overall costs. Choosing Node.js for your next project comes with the benefits of improving user experience, fast development speed, and a reduced loading time for your website. If you are planning to create an application with a broad target audience and a large number of queries, then Node.js is an excellent choice.
